Chief Adebisi Adaran, the Ogbeni Odi Awujale of Ijebu-Ode and a member of the controversial Adele Oba Awujale-in-Council, has reportedly been arrested amid the lingering dispute over the administration of Ijebuland during the interregnum.
Adaran, popularly known as Gbenden, was reportedly arrested in Ijebu-Ode on Tuesday afternoon, November 10, following developments surrounding the vacant Awujale stool and the disagreement over the authority to administer the traditional affairs of Ijebuland.
Sources alleged that the arrest was carried out on the direct order of Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun.
However, the circumstances surrounding the arrest and the alleged involvement of the governor have yet to be independently established.
Adaran’s current whereabouts and the agency responsible for his arrest were also unclear as of the time of filing this report.
How Adaran became involved in the Awujale crisis
Adaran’s reported arrest comes against the backdrop of his involvement in the emergence of the Adele Oba Awujale-in-Council, an alternative traditional administrative arrangement proposed by senior chiefs in Ijebu-Ode to oversee the affairs of the community during the absence of a substantive Awujale.
As previously reported by WestNG, Adaran was among the 14 traditional chiefs listed as members of the Adele Oba Awujale-in-Council following a resolution reached at a meeting involving the Ilamurem, Pampa, Odi and other senior chiefs of Ijebu-Ode.
The November 2 resolution, signed by the council’s chairman, Olorogun Dr Sonny Kuku, provided for members of the existing Awujale Interregnum Administrative Council (AIAC) to relinquish their positions and transition into the Adele Oba Awujale-in-Council.
Adaran was specifically listed as the Ogbeni Odi Awujale among the members of the proposed council.
The chiefs maintained that the arrangement was informed by their interpretation of the traditional and statutory frameworks governing the Awujale chieftaincy institution.
They argued that the Ogun State Chiefs Law of 2021 did not expressly establish an Awujale Regency Council or prescribe a general procedure for appointing a regent during an interregnum.
They also cited the Chiefs Law and Declaration of 1957 as providing a framework for customary arrangements, including the Adele Oba Awujale-in-Council.
Government rejects alternative council
However, the arrangement immediately ran into opposition from the Ogun State Government, which insisted that the Awujale Interregnum Administrative Council remained the only legally recognised body authorised to oversee the administrative and traditional affairs of Ijebuland pending the emergence of a new monarch.
In a development reported by WestNG on November 4, the government announced the reconstitution of the AIAC following the reported withdrawal of some of its members and the emergence of the Adele Oba Awujale-in-Council.
The Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Ganiyu Hamzat, maintained that neither the Awujale Chieftaincy Declaration nor the Ogun State Obas and Chiefs Law, 2021, recognised the Adele Oba Awujale-in-Council as an administrative body with authority over Ijebuland.
Government also relied on a consent judgment of the Ogun State High Court in Suit No. HCJ/180/2025, which it said affirmed the legality and authority of the AIAC.
The reconstituted council was headed by the Olisa of Ijebu-Ode, Chief Rasheed Adeoye Adesanya, with Chief Chris Okunowo, the Bobasuwa, as secretary.
The government subsequently warned members of the public against conducting official transactions with individuals presenting themselves as members of an alternative administrative body.
Adaran’s reported arrest is the latest development in the disagreement between the Ogun State Government and sections of the Ijebu traditional establishment over the appropriate administrative structure for Ijebuland during the Awujale interregnum.
The immediate circumstances surrounding his reported arrest, however, remain unclear.
As of the time of filing this report, there had been no independently confirmed official statement from the Ogun State Government or the police establishing the reason for his arrest or confirming the alleged involvement of Governor Abiodun.
